Llyn Peris and Dolbadarn Castle

A landscape: in the centre distance a castle tower on a cliff above a lake. The lake fills the centre and foreground. A boy sits on a rock, left, fishing. The scene is framed by trees and the river bank, right. Linked to a series of views of Dolbadarn Castle variously dated c.1762-65. These are probably Wilson’s first topographical Welsh subjects after his return from Italy (c.1756-57).

Wilson, a native of Wales, studied the works of Claude and Poussin and lived in Rome for several years. He became one of the most successful landscape painters of the 1700s. His paintings combined accurate topography with a fashionable Italianate style.